ATHENS — Greece’s former left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stepped down Monday from his parliamentary seat as speculation mounts that he will form a new party.

“I am resigning as a Syriza member of parliament, but I am not resigning from political activism,” Tsipras said in a statement. “I cannot and do not wish to formally participate in a parliament that, stripped bare of its democratic essence, is unable to fulfill its constitutional role and the demands of its citizens.”

Tsipras characterized his decision as one of “conscience” and a move away from the institutional comfort of the parliament and into “the uncertainty of [direct] social engagement.”

The remarks are largely considered Tsipras’ first step toward forming a new party that aspires to lead the Greek center left and left.

Tsipras was 34 years old when he became Syriza leader 17 years ago and oversaw its electoral leap from 4.6 percent in 2009 to 36.3 percent in 2015. He served as Greece’s prime minister from 2015 to 2019, during some of the most turbulent years of the country’s financial crisis.

In summer 2023, Tsipras resigned from the party’s leadership after a crushing defeat in national elections by the ruling center-right New Democracy party.

Since then Syriza has faced an existential crisis, leading to many splinters, and lost its status as the country’s main opposition party.

Consecutive polls reveal deep distrust of Greece’s political parties, as well as disagreement with government policies.  

However, no real challenger to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has appeared. New Democracy is still comfortably atop polls, even though it would be unable to form a majority government if a new election were held this week.

Polls indicate that Tsipras’ potential base could be up to 20 percent of the electorate, ahead of the next elections in 2027